Tabulating Machine Component, Control Panel for an IBM 403 Tabulating Machine

Object Details

International Business Machines Corporation

MAC Panel Company

Description: By the late 1940s, the calculations and printout of IBM accounting machines were determined by setting a plugboard like this one and then feeding in data punched on cards. This control panel was used specifically in an IBM 403 tabulating machine, a device introduced in the late 1940s and distributed at least into the late 1960s.; The object has a rectangular metal frame with a metal handle on one of the long edges. It is divided into three sections, each containing a plastic circuit board with numerous holes. Many colorful plastic and cloth-coated wires are plugged into the holes. The board is wired for calculating invoices.; A red tag attached under the handle reads: 403 INVOICE. A tag glued under the panel reads: MFG. BY (/) MAC PANEL (/) COMPANY. This tag also reads: HIGH POINT (/) N. C. and: TYPE 913. A mark stamped at the bottom of one circuit board reads: TYPE 402-403 22573 PRINTED IN USA.; According to the company website, MAC Panel Company was founded in High Point in 1958.; This example came from a programmer who worked with punch card equipment and computers from 1940 until 1985.; References:; IBM, IBM 402, 403 and 419 Accounting Machine Manual of Operation, New York: IBM, 1953, pp. 4–7. This is 2006.3088.03.20.; Accession file.; M. Campbell-Kelly, ICL: A Business and Technical HistoryOxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, pp. 90–92.
Location: Currently not on view

ca 1960

Physical Description: metal (overall material); plastic (overall material); cloth (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 7 cm x 48 cm x 32 cm; 2 3/4 in x 18 29/32 in x 12 19/32 in

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics; Computers & Business Machines; Tabulating Equipment

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-1729-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa